Brake



Sept. 5, 1933'. L SNELL 1,925,286

BRAKE Filed March 12. 1930 KM'MZZ Patented Sept. 5, 1933 UNITED sr BRAKELyle K. Snell, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Eaton Manufacturing Company,Cleveland, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application March 12, 1930. Serial No. 435,187

8 Claims.

This invention relates generally to-brakes, and more particularly to areleasing mechanism for multiple shoe vehicle brakes.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved form of brakereleasing mechanism, which is of simplified construction, and which isvery efficient in operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a brake releasingmechanism in which a single spring means is employed for urging theshoes toward released position.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certainnovel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described andparticularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawing,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing a vehicle brake embodying myinvention,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary elevational view taken in the directionindicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

' In the drawing illustrating one embodiment of my invention 1 haveshown a vehicle brake of the type disclosed in my copending application,Serial No. 400,776, filed October 19, 1929, and as illustrated in Fig. 1this brake is provided with a brake drum 10 and with a plurality ofshoes 11, 12, 13 and 14 arranged to cooperate with the drum. The shoes11, 12 and 13 are pivotally mounted, respectively, upon the anchor pins15, 16 and 1'7 which are carried by the backing plate 18. The shoe 14 isalso pivotally mounted upon the anchor pin 16, this shoe being providedwith an arm 19 having an opening through which the arm of the shoe 13extends. A rotatable actuating cam 20 is arranged between the adjacentfree ends of the shoes '11 and 14;. Suitable means is provided forrotating this actuating cam for wedging these shoes apart and intoengagement with the drum.

The shoes 11 and 12 are arranged with portions thereof overlapping, andlikewise, the shoes 12 and 13 are arranged with portions thereofoverlapping. A roller 21 'is interposed between the overlapping portionsof shoes 11 and 12, and a similar roller 22 is interposed between theover-- lapping portions of shoes 12 and 13, so that outward movement ofshoe 11, upon an application of braking force at its free end, causesmovement to be imparted to shoe 12 through the roller 21, and, in turn,movement of the shoe 12 transmits motion to the shoe 13 through theroller 22. Each 7 of the shoes is provided with a section of suitablebrake lining 23, for frictional engagement with the inner surface of thedrum.

It will be noted that in the arrangement of shoes illustrated, the shoes13 and 14 are arranged heel to heel, or in other words, with por- 0tions of their pivoted ends in adjacent spaced relation and with thepivot arm of the shoe 13 crossing or extending through the pivot arm ofthe shoe 14. For moving all of the shoes toward released position Iprovide releasing mechanism 2% arranged between the heel portions ,ofthe shoes 13 and '14. This release mechanism may be constructed invarious forms, but as herein illustrated it comprises a coiled spring 25and an adjusting screw 26. The spring is arranged with one end thereofextending into the opening of the arm 19 and seating upon the abutmentmember 27 carried by the shoe 14, and with its other end surrounding theextension 28, provided at one end of theadjusting screw. The oppositeend of the adjusting screw is threaded for engagement in a threadedopening provided in the heel portion of the shoe 13. This screw ispreferably formed with a hexagon portion 29, so that the screw can beeasily turned for adjust ing its position relative to the abutment 27,and thus varying the compression of the spring. In this arrangement, itwill be readily seen, the hexagon portion of the adjusting screw can beconveniently engaged by a suitable wrench through the space between theheel portions of the shoes before the drum has been assembled inposition. If desired a suitable pin 30 may be provided to extend throughthe hexagon portion of the screw to prevent the same from turning afteradjustment has been made. i In the operation of the device, brakeapplying force is supplied to the shoes byrotation of the actuating cam20 to swing the shoes outwardly about their pivots into engagement withthe .95 drum, so that when the brake is applied the spring 25 iscompressed between the heel portions of the shoes 13 and 14. When thebrake applying force is relieved the spring 25 presses the pivoted endsof the shoes 13 and 14 apart, thus moving them towards releasedposition. Releasing movement thus imparted to the shoe 13 is transmittedto the shoe 12 through the bear ing 22, and in turn, is transmitted tothe shoe 11 through the bearing 21. the single spring means which I haveprovided acts directly upon the shoes 13 and 14 to urge them towardsreleased position, and indirectly upon the shoes 12 and 11 to move themtoward. released position also. 1

It will thus be seen that; 1

It will now be readily seen that I have provided an efficient form ofbrake releasing mechanism which is of extremely simple construction, andwhich can be quickly assembled and very easily adjusted.

While I have shown and described the device of my invention in adetailed manner, it should be understood, however, that I do not intendto limit myself to the precise details shown and described, but regardmy invention as including such changes and modifications as do notinvolve a departure from the spirit of the inven* tion and the scope ofthe appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In a brake the combination of a brake drum, a pair of brake shoesarranged to cooperate with said drum, means for applying braking forceto said shoes, and means for releasing the brake comprising an abutmenton each of said shoes, and a spring engaging said abutmentaone of saidabutments being adjustable to regulate the action of said spring.

2. In a brake the combination of a brake drum, a support adjacent saiddrum, a plurality of brake shoes for cooperation with said drumincluding a pair of shoes having rigid arm portions pivoted on saidsupport and also having opposed abutment means spaced from the pivotpoints for said arm portions and brake releasing means cooperating withthe opposed abutment means of said pair of shoes.

3. In a brake the combination of a drum, a plurality of shoes forcooperation with said drum, means for applying braking force to saidshoes, brake releasing means comprising a spring normally undercompression for urging one of said shoes toward released position, andmeans whereby another of said shoes is urged toward released position byforce transmitted from said one shoe.

4. In a brake the combination of a drum, a sup port, a plurality ofshoes pivoted on said support for cooperation with said drum, means forapplying-braking force to said shoes, brake releasing means comprising aspring normally under compression for urging one of said shoes towardreleased position, and means whereby another of said shoes is urgedtoward released position by force transmitted from said one shoe.

5. In a brake the combination of a drum, a series of shoes forcooperation with said drum, said shoes being arranged so that brakingforce is transmitted from shoe to shoe in one direction through saidseries and brake releasing force from shoe to shoe in the oppositedirection through said series, means for initially supplying brakingforce to said series, and a spring normally under compression forinitially supplying brake releasing force to said series.

6. In a brake the combination of a drum, a support adjacent said drum, aplurality of substantially rigid individual shoes independently pivotedon said support for cooperation with said drum, said shoes beingarranged in a circumferentially extending series including a pair ofshoes having opposed abutment means thereon, and means .00- operatingwith said abutment means for releasing all of the shoes of said series.

7. In a brake the combination of a drum, a support adjacent said drum, aplurality of substantially rigid individual shoes independently pivotedon said support for cooperation with said drum, said shoes beingarranged in a circumferentially extending series including a pair ofshoes having opposed abutment means thereon, and means for releasing allof the shoes of said series including a compression spring interposedbetween said abutment means.

8. In a brake the combination of a drum, a

its

support adjacent said drum, a plurality of subh stantially rigidindividual shoes pivoted on said 510 support for cooperation with saiddrum, said shoes being in a circumferentially extending series includinga pair of shoes arranged heel to heel,

said pair of shoes being provided with opposed abutment means located ata greater radial dis-

